Thieves shoot, beat man for medical marijuana

NEWAYGO COUNTY, Mich. (WZZM) -- A Newaygo County man says he was beaten and shot at by one of three men trying to steal medical marijuana in his back yard.

Cory Roberts says he caught three men digging a hole underneath his greenhouse Monday and chased one of them into the field.

"I tackled him right here and got on top of him. I was holding the barrel of the gun as he was beating me in my face with it," said Roberts.

The gun went off and grazed Cory's head. "I felt the left side of my face. I thought I was done-- I thought I had been shot and I was dying."

Somehow, Cory was able to pin the man down. "He was screaming 'Stop! Please stop, I'm sorry. You made me shoot you.'"

The Newaygo County Sheriff's Department took one person into custody. Meantime, Cory went to the hospital. "I've got eight staples in my head, several stitches around my eyes and mouth."

Cory and his wife Lynette say they knew there were risks but never expected it to turn violent. Lynette is a licensed medical marijuana caregiver and currently has three patients. There are only a few plants in their greenhouse.

"They were willing to take my life and I believe, If I wouldn't have stopped them, they would have taken my family's life," said Roberts.

Cory says they did take precautions when they started growing medical marijuana by putting a fence around the greenhouse and installing security cameras.

The Newaygo County Sheriff's Department came back to the scene Tuesday and took the video and other items from the home as evidence.